All eyes are now on Nabanna Sabhaghar (conference hall of state secretariat) in Howrah, where Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari will hold his first meeting with top police officers – including district police superintendents and CID personnel – on Monday.
To oversee security preparations at the conference hall, Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Nand visited Nabanna on Sunday.
The scheduled meeting will happen in the backdrop of alleged post-poll violence in the state, including the murder of Adhikari’s assistant Chandranath Rath on the outskirts of Kolkata.
Sources indicated that a major reshuffle in IAS and IPS ranks is on the cards. “Before the assembly polls, the Election Commission had transferred a large number of administrative and police officers in Bengal. The government is yet to decide how many of those officials who were transferred during the election will be reinstated in prominent and responsible posts and how many of them will remain in shunted posts,” said a senior BJP leader.
“Though not tomorrow, but we will induct new ministers in the coming days. Departments will be slotted, and work will start in full swing under the leadership of our chief minister,” the BJP leader added.
Adhikari spent most of Sunday at his home, Shanti Kunja, in Contai in Purba Medinipur, where thousands gathered to meet him.
At the request of Adhikari’s family, no guardrails were placed near their home.
Meanwhile, speaking with media persons, Cabinet minister Dilip Ghosh said, “We have just taken oath. That was just the beginning. We are yet to get the charge. Departments will be decided, and more ministers will come in. Then we will start working.”
Asked about the decision of the Trinamool Congress to name its Leader of Opposition and Chief Whip in the Assembly, Ghosh replied, “She (Mamata Banerjee) did that drama (not resigning as chief minister) to be in the limelight. This is democracy. She has to leave the chair as it is the people’s mandate.”
Ghosh, along with BJP Maniktolla MLA Tapas Roy, was visiting a fish festival at Amherst Street in Kolkata.
“Mamata Banerjee has always lied to the people. Had it not been for BJP-ruled states, Bengal would not have gotten the fish for consumption according to its demand here. Why is Bengal not self-dependent in fish production?” said Roy.
In Bankura, another Cabinet minister, Khudiram Tudu, highlighted that steps will be taken against fake SC and ST certificates. “It will be our priority. We will investigate and take action against people with fake ST and SC certificates,” said Tudu.
Agnimitra Paul, the only woman in the Bengal Cabinet, was seen visiting the Kalighat temple on Sunday.